In the pole position shootout between those in the fast six, Alexander Rossi set the early marker to beat of 59.609s, until Newgarden scorched around in 59.525s despite grazing the wall.
That would have looked good enough for pole, especially after David Malukas of Dale Coyne Racing came within 0.028s, but Herta found a remarkable quarter of a second on used soft tyres to deliver a 59.269s.
